Communist rebels torch ComVal mining firm’s equipment

TAGUM CITY, Philippines –Suspected New People’s Army rebels burned equipment of a mining company partly owned by an American miner in Pantukan, Compostela Valley, the military said Monday.

At least 30 heavily-armed communist guerrillas swooped down on the compound of St. Augustine Copper and Gold in Gumayan, Kingking village around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, disarming the lone guard of his revolver before dousing the company’s drilling equipment with gasoline and setting it on fire, said Lieutenant Ari Ben Hernandez, civil-military officer of the army’s 71st Infantry Battalion.

The suspects also torched the belongings of the firm’s other personnel before fleeing, Hernandez said.

At least P10 million worth of equipment was destroyed following the incident, he said.

It was the second time that communist guerrillas attacked the firm since it started operating in the area early this year.

A joint venture between North American miner Russell Mining and Minerals Inc. and local Nationwide Development Corporation (Nadecor), St. Augustine Copper and Gold is currently doing exploration work on the 1,663-hectare Kingking gold-copper project in Pantukan.

One of the firm’s security personnel was killed when NPA rebels disarmed guards securing a group of geologists on their way to the mine site last May.